This invention relates to packaging and is more particularly concerned with improvements in the packaging of an assembly or group of articles having the form of cups with tapered sidewalls which are adapted to be arranged in double row relation and enclosed in a wrap-around type blank of foldable sheet material so as to form a multi-unit package.
In the marketing of a number of products, for example, dairy products, individual consumer units or portions are frequently prepared for distribution by placing the same in cup-shaped containers having inwardly and downwardly tapered sidewalls, and closing the cups with lid type closures which provide a flat top surface. In many cases, larger package units are then prepared by assembling a plurality of the cups into a group and packaging the group. One form of group packaging, which has been employed originally in the multi-unit packaging of canned beverages and similar products, has been employed with some degree of success in the multi-unit packaging of products in cups, but cups of the tapered sidewall configuration have presented problems, largely because the resultant package has not been of a character which lends itself to satisfactory stacking on a shelf for display and/or self service. The cups are tilted in forming a tight wrap which is desirable to retain the cups in the package and an upwardly bowed top surface results which prevents stable piling of the packages upon each other.
It is a general object of the invention to provide a method and a means for forming an improved multi-unit package of a plurality of articles which have the general shape of a cup with a tapered sidewall and which are adapted to be arranged in double row relation and a group thereof enclosed in a cut and creased blank of foldable wrapping material.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a packaging arrangement which is especially adapted for enclosing in tightly wrapped relation a plurality of articles, having the general form of a cup with tapered sidewalls and which are arranged in double row, side-by-side relation, in a cut and scored blank of foldable sheet material with provisions for retaining the articles in upright position and restraining them against movement out of the open ended carton which is formed by wrapping the blank about the articles.
A further object of the invention is to provide a packaging arrangement for a group of cup shaped articles which have tapered sidewalls and which are arranged in double row transversely aligned relation and enclosed in a carton forming blank of foldable sheet material, which blank is cut and scored so as to be wrapped about the group of articles and secured with provisions for separating the cups in the rows and positioning them in upright relation so as to form a flat top carton surface.
The invention which is disclosed and claimed herein comprises a packaging arrangement in which a plurality of articles having the general shape of cups with upwardly and outwardly tapered sidewalls and arranged in a double row are enclosed in a carton formed by wrapping about the articles a blank of foldable sheet material which is cut and scored to provide in the erected carton, connected top, side and bottom walls and a center article separator structure extending between the bottom portions of the articles in the rows with upwardly converging walls which separate the bottom portions of the articles and hold the articles in upright position.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the accompanying description of the preferred form thereof which is set forth therein by way of example and shown in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout: